Biosphere Plans

Biosphere II is a 139,935 square foot (3.15 acre) facility made of glass and spaceframe, the largest total enclosed ecosystem ever built. All of the living things inside were taken directly from Biosphere I. All seven ecosystems of Earth exist within the confines of Biosphere II. They are a rainforest, a desert, a savanah, a marsh, a farmland (in an area called the Intensive Agriculture Biome), and a "human habitat". Thus, it contains soil, air, water, animals, and plants. About 4,000 plants and animals were introduced to Biosphere II, and the ocean contained 900,000 gallons of water. It was hoped that these provisions would give the ecosystems enough material to be self-sustaining.

biosphere sketch
Image courtesy of Jennifer German



The complete facility, built in Oracle, Arizona, (in the middle of the Sonoran desert), cost $200 million. Its purpose was to test the possibility of living in like establishments on planets other than Earth.

pic of desert in biospherepic of ocean in biosphere
Images courtesy of Melanie Maguire


Take a photo tour on a Biospherics website.
 
 




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